This is a project I have been working on for several months, I think it is pretty phenomenal. I did not do the coding or project management or any of those kinds of things that I am terrible at, but all of the mechanical and optical design was mine.

Basically, it is a piece of laser cut foamcore that folds origami-style into a 3D viewer for your phone, very similar to the Hasbro My3D. Seems simple, but it took over 80 prototypes to get everything just right, with all the folding measurements just so. I made one version for iPhones, and another for the Samsung Galaxy Nexus.

Some pictures of the Nexus version:

The viewer gives access to the camera, volume buttons (Which can be used as inputs in iOS5) and hold/home buttons. The field of view is 49 degrees diagonally, much better than the Hasbro My3D. We gave away a few hundred at the IEEE VR 2012 conference, but we just got a big chunk of funding, so we are planning on making several thousand viewers that we can give away for the cost of shipping.

@Pierreye: Not just movies! 360 degree motion tracked games, too. We are writing some apps that use the iPhone camera for motion tracking.

@Brantlew: We ordered a few thousand of them from a Chinese company. Less than $1 a pair, and acceptable quality.

@Yolonegro: The concept is similar, using a single screen with dual optics has been around for years. The difference is that mine folds (Instead of being slotted together), has a much wider field of view (something that is needed for immersion), has fold back light blockers (Again, something you need for immersion), and gives you easy access to all the buttons, along with the touchscreen. I don't understand why Toyin3D claims you can use their viewer for games, because I frankly see no way to control them! All the videos of people "gaming" they have just show people looking around with their heads, no interaction at all. They also claim it works with any phone, but that means that no phone is going to actually fit in the viewer snugly, or have correct IPD, physically and content wise, which results in significant eyestrain. Add in some of the dubious claims (Like how they say it works on an iPod Classic, which has a tiny 2.5" screen), and I would probably want to stay away from that product.

Oh, and this one costs just under $3, shipping brings it up a $5. A lot better than the $15 they want, especially since you can get a My3D for that price!

EDIT: I tried to buy one, and despite the claim that the price includes shipping and tax, it adds shipping costs during the actual ordering process, bringing my total to $35 for a single viewer, with a 20 day lead time. It wants me to pay through some external service that I cannot find any solid reference to online, and Paypal is not an option. Call me paranoid, but with all their other falsehoods/exaggerations/lies on the table, I just don't trust them with my credit card number. Gonna use a prepaid gift card to minimize my losses if it goes south.

@space123321: We are working on a few revisions, once we get the design locked down, I will make a thread so people can sign up for them. Hopefully we can give them out for free, we might ask for people to cover shipping, though.

@3DGirl: I don't have the seller link at the moment, but they will not sell in low numbers (We had to buy over a thousand pairs of lenses to get a good price). I would be happy to mail you a pair for free, though, just PM me your address!

@Pierreye: I can ship internationally no problem, not like it has a heavy import value! The Minus Lab application is stereoscopic 3D, and shows off the tracking capabilities of the iPhone very well.

I have left each unit to 23,75$, 31.25$ including shipping charges and taxes, delivery time was 8 days from Spain to Australia, does not seem a high price, not a long delivery time. It's a good product for my.

I tried it with different devices, iPhone 4S, Blackberry Torch, Samsung Galaxy, Nokia Lumina, iPod Touch and PSP Vita; is an universal 3D viewer for all smartphones, and the 3D experience was very positive.

I have not had any problems with my 4B card to buy.

I have also tried different games that do not need smarphone buttons, use the gyro and movements, as SlowBall3D, Kaleidoscope, Disassembly, Coaxter XTR, and your own 3D app "FOV2GO Tales From The Minus Lab" Great & Amazing 3Dapp!!!

If you want a fun time with your friends, I recommend the 3D viewer TOYin3D;-)

Been dreaming of something like this and hoping someone would make it (My3D doesn't really come close to the potential here).

If VR is to take off, I think introducing it in a cheap and compact form factor that connects with a motion tracking high res mobile phone and your in business.

Now all you need is a bluetooth connection with a ps3 controller, iphone 5 beefed up graphics and resolution, a FPS with independant head movement, and a better / LEEP style lense system to push that FOV out to 90 +.

I have experimented with a macro lense up agains the new ipad, and it is really hard to see any pixels, so if the iphone 5 is the same pixel density, I think you can afford to blow up the image to a wider FOV and still get crisp visuals.

Also, if I would like to get my hands on one of your FOV2GO, is it possible to ship internationally to Malaysia?

@Mark: I am working on it, I have already made some very high FOV versions. Pretty excited about what is possible with this! Shipping to Malaysia is no problem, as long as you pay for it.

@Yolonegro, 3Dgirl, and TesterBoy: The game is up. You should be ashamed of yourselves!

Yolonegro, you register here and your first post just happens to be about the ToyIn3D. Your IP address traces to Madrid, Spain, the location of ToyIn3D. The very next day after you saw me pointing out the flaws in your design, you go to my employer and threaten legal action. Very classy.

3DGirl, you also happen to register at the same time, asking me for my lens source, claiming to be working for a charitable organization. I would have told you either way, but you seem to think that the only way to get ahead is to deceive others. Your IP also traces to Madrid, Spain.

TesterBoy, you also happen to register only to post about how great ToyIn3D is. You claim that you ordered four of them to Australia. Problem is, your IP not only traces to Madrid, Spain, it is the same IP address as 3DGirl! Explain how two people have the same IP address when one of them is in Australia and the other works in Africa?

You violate not only the rules of the forum (viewtopic.php?f=111&t=10449), but basic professional ethics. A company that uses these kinds of tactics should not be supported by anyone. My critique of your product is entirely factual, and if you disagree with it, then feel free to tell me why. Going behind my back without even defending your product is wrong, and lying to promote your product is even worse.

In light of this explanation, all "three" of you are banned. If you would like to talk about ToyIn3D here, then sign up for an account that clearly discloses that it belongs to your company.

Great spotting PalmerTech. TesterBoy was totally obvious, but the IP obviously gives away those other two rather well.

As you say, it shows a total lack of professional ethics. I'm tempted to post about this on Reddit about it so everyone can laugh (and be warned) about these guys....They are obviously not very bright, but think they are. First posts by ANYONE that seem more like ads always attract my suspicion, and it seems they don't even have basic knowledge about IP addresses.

'3DGirl' (who is probably the same person) trying to pretend to be a charitable organization is exceptionally low.

I've been looking at those expensive HMDs for a while, and I have to say that this one is a tantalizing alternative!

The more that I've thought about it, the more I've come to realize that the iPhone (or any motion enabled phone) is really the smartest avenue when it come to Virtual Reality, because you have the motion hardware, the rendering hardware, the high resolution display, and wireless connectivity all in one convenient package!

Now, since I'm currently unable(?) to try your FOV2GO, I tested your app (since good hardware is nothing without good software), and I really liked it!It had very robust tracking; even when I shook it, it always re-calibrated back to normal within seconds. My only gripe was the constant flying forward.

If one were to take his or her FOV2GO to an open space, could the iPhone's accelerometers handle detection of forward motion?I ask because maybe the accelerometers/GPS could eliminate the need for a "Global" positioning system like Friispace ( viewtopic.php?f=120&t=14069 ).

Good Accelerometer motion, perhaps blended with real GPS readings, could make a system that would be compatible with the redirected walking paper (2nd post in Friispace link). From there, an immersive (albeit uninteractive) holodeck is just a few steps away! (no pun intended)

@zalo: I have also just recently come to realize that the iPhone (and other phones) are fantastic little sensor packages and is now a direction I am actively pursuing with the FriiSpace project. Inertial units can detect motion but they also quickly accumulate errors and are undependable for tracking position. You have to have an external global position tracker to enforce real world boundaries - otherwise you run a significant risk of bumping into things or worse. Whether you use an optical system or a GPS system depends on the the accuracy that you need.

Our viewer TOYin3D is protected by INTERNATIONAL PATENT LAWS, please do not hesitate to contact us as soon as possible to solve this PATENT INFRINGEMENT.

I cannot consider engaging in a discussion with you until you come clean and admit that you made multiple fraudulent accounts for the sole purpose of promoting your product. There was no need for this to be a public spat, but that is the only thing that can come from how you are handling things.

I wouldn't even consider listening to anything these kiddies, do unless it was attached to a letter from a reputable legal firm. Even if they have some sort of patent, I highly doubt it would stand up to any prior art scrutiny.

I don't want to drag this out any longer than I have to, but I want to make sure this info is out there for anybody who might deal with this company. ToyIn3D has had plenty of time to respond, and if they dispute any of these claims, I welcome the correction.

Are known red-blue anaglyph glasses and glasses for three-dimensional images such as "cross-view" or "parallel view" to display stereoscopic content, but so far not implemented these techniques in personal portable devices.

You do not say anything about the numerous commercial devices that have been sold as early as 2006 that are basically the same idea, like the Solid Eye, another extremely low cost 3D viewer:

There are other similar products that you can find if you do a good search for prior use of your idea, like you are supposed to do.

2) The unique thing about your product is that it claims to work with any device. Claims. I don't see any way for that to be possible, as there is no accounting for varying IPD, convergence and focal length, and you claim it works on devices it cannot possibly be used on (Like the iPod Classic), but fine, suppose you have patented the idea of a "universal" viewer? It has nothing to do with other devices like the Hasbro My3D or the FOV2GO, because each viewer is specifically designed to work with a single model of phone. The low cost aspect of your product has been done before years ago, and actually, the Hasbro My3D has been going for less money than your ToyIn3D!

3) I see you took my advice in making an account that clearly discloses who you are, but instead of defending your product, you still seem to want to fight this with your pending patent application. In doing so, you yet again prove that you have been lying about who you are. Making fake reviews is one thing, pretending to be a charitable organization is just horrendous.

Again, I never wanted this to be a public spat, but your actions (And subsequent lack of action) left no other options. Feel free to PM me if you want to communicate further, Mr. Estado/ToyIn3D.

Correct me if I am wrong, in your case, no patent has been granted in the USA yet. In fact the preliminary search during your international patent application has thrown up three similar patents. I think the public can write to the patent office to give important feedback to this specific application. Hint hint.

Palmertech - looks great! I'd definitely be interested in one and would happily pay delivery to England. Like everyone else I'd be really interested in a higher FOV version.

I've been playing with a pair of 38mm focal length, 50mm aperture fresnels as as a cheap thin replacement for leap style optics, but I don't have the time, room, tools or skills to mount them properly. There's a bit of fringing in the colours but apart from that, from my half arsed experiments they seem as though they would work great. Really interested to see how you progress with this!

So I've been playing with the app and the 50mm fresnels I mentioned and it works pretty good - except for the fact I must look like a lunatic trying to hold to lenses to my face with one hand and keep the iphone in focus with the other while I move around - have you thought about putting any stereoscopic settings into future versions of the app/library, it would be great to be able to adjust ipd, convergence etc..?

It's a shame the bluetooth stack is limited on the iphone - I think you have to jailbreak it to use a wiimote? - I guess the android phones don't have that problem? I think the two combined would make a pretty neat setup.

Hi, Palmer. Just dropping by to try and do some damage control in behalf of my fellow countrymen -not that patriotism is a trait of character that I hold in a high regard or anything, but whatever. After what I've witnessed here in the forums I feel compelled to say that I, as a spaniard, am ASHAMED of this people -now, that's a correct use of capitals, BTW- and want to let everybody know that these clowns are not, by any means, any kind of standard by which the people of my land can be measured. Nothing else to add, as yourself and others have already pointed out their childish and immature behavior and, what's worse, deeply low morals. OK, maybe one more thing: their -his? her?- english sucks epic balls. There.

By the way, you can count one more to the list of hopefuls, as I also have an eye put on one of your Oculus -see what I did there?

I'll cut them up this week, though I wonder if I can find those magnifying glasses locally (I'll look at the dollar store first). I'll cut one up for my GF's Iphone 4 as well but I'm think she'll think it's too geeky

I had a few questions:I was wondering, earlier in the thread you mentioned working on a wider FOV HMD. Any schematics or plans? I think the resolution is large enough on my note but I was thinking with something like a collimating mirror (similar to what I used to work with in flight simulators) would be OK with the phone brightness and size/resolution, without resorting to a (few) projector(s).

2nd q: Head tracking - I saw you had experimented with your demo game and also the Google Viewer, does the tracking work well or does it tend to drift? Maybe using a filtering algorithm like they have at DIYdrones for the autopilot?

3rd q: any thoughts on pairing the phone with a wiimote or PS3 sixaxis controller for movement? The benefit with a wiimote is that you could put it in a "gun slider" (those plastic accesories they sell for the wii) and read the accelerometer/gyro (if you have the wiimote plus) for aiming. it can be connected with the nunchuck for movement.

Hi, Palmer. Just dropping by to try and do some damage control in behalf of my fellow countrymen ...

Greetings from sunny and -mostly- civilized Spain.

Thanks for the post! Don't worry, I would never think less of a country because of a single person on the internet. If that were the case, I would have to hate my own country quite a bit.

jonnycowboy wrote:

I was wondering, earlier in the thread you mentioned working on a wider FOV HMD. Any schematics or plans? I think the resolution is large enough on my note but I was thinking with something like a collimating mirror (similar to what I used to work with in flight simulators) would be OK with the phone brightness and size/resolution, without resorting to a (few) projector(s).

2nd q: Head tracking - I saw you had experimented with your demo game and also the Google Viewer, does the tracking work well or does it tend to drift? Maybe using a filtering algorithm like they have at DIYdrones for the autopilot?

3rd q: any thoughts on pairing the phone with a wiimote or PS3 sixaxis controller for movement? The benefit with a wiimote is that you could put it in a "gun slider" (those plastic accesories they sell for the wii) and read the accelerometer/gyro (if you have the wiimote plus) for aiming. it can be connected with the nunchuck for movement.

1) No schematics or plans yet, but they will be up as soon as they are finalized somewhat.

2) The head tracking works very well, but you should definitely try to upgrade the OS of your Note to 4.0. The Note actually had some of the worst tracking of any Android phone I have used, but the 4.0 update makes it much better. No drift, since it has a magnetometer.

3) This is something we are working on right now.

4) We would love to implement eye-tracking, but it is low on the list of priorities right now. A lot of very cool things can be done with it, but doing them right takes a lot of effort. Something else that eye tracking could be used for would be to navigate menus and the like without moving your head, could be pretty sweet.

Let me know how building your viewer goes, if you have any trouble getting ahold of appropriate lenses, let me know so I can help you get some.

2) The head tracking works very well, but you should definitely try to upgrade the OS of your Note to 4.0. The Note actually had some of the worst tracking of any Android phone I have used, but the 4.0 update makes it much better. No drift, since it has a magnetometer.

Android 4.0 puts a device's gyroscopes through a high-pass filter and the magnetometer through a low-pass filter, combining the result into the virtual "orientation" sensor. Previous versions of Android still have the virtual sensor for orientation, but it's just based on the magnetometer, which is noisy. You can get the same results as Android 4.0 (quick, accurate, and stable turns with no drift) on any device that has a gyroscope and magnetometer by grabbing the output from the sensors and fusing them yourself.

Not a new trick, but handy to know. And, as should be obvious, works on non-Android devices as well.

I have stopped checking my google reader 5 times a day and now just check these forums 5 times a day. It's the only news I want to hear about anyway. Some exciting stuff! Can't wait for the FOV2GO and the Rift! You should make Rift t-shirts. I'd buy one. I'm an optometrist so I should have some clothing with Oculus on it anyway.

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